Paraffin scraper



Jan. 6, 1948. MEYNlG 2,433,955

PARAFFIN SCRAPER Filed Nov. 15, 1944 'a 'aw INVENTOQ ATTORNEYS ROBERTE, M EYNIG" Patented Jan. 6, 1948 umreo S'EATES omce.

SGRA'BEE RohertiE. Meyn g, La liorte Texh ApplicatiomNovember 13, 1944; Serial No." 56352 76 :01a (criteria),

Thi invention relates; to; a; scraper; which, is adapted ot;1b etrav rsed-throu hout a; welltubin tare-move naraffim. asphaltz oth r a cumulate tions, and is particularly directedto; a device which may besecured atflany-point along the length of a wire line and isradditionally proyided with outwardly extending; loops; formedfrom a contin-uouslength of wire;

Heretofore,- scrapers; and others types; of cleaners hich are adapted tobe run throughga well tubing-to removeyzdeposits have been provided with radially extending wires and the like, the ends of which are adapted'toscrape or cut the deposit so that it may be removed from the tubing by flushing with oil or other liquid. The; marine facture of these devices entailed the fabrication of a great number'ofsmallwire elements and numerous fastening devices .-by;.- which they -were' secured to the body of the unit so as to extend V radially or tangentially outwardly theref TOm.

This invention comprehendsbroadly the-provision of an elongated body- 'which; may. 'beg soli d or hollowand which is provided; with aplurality of substantially transverse apertures desirably spaced throughout itsdeng-th and also arranged circumferentially to receive; acontinuous lengthi ofs, w e wh c is. hreaded. sequentially throu h the several apertures to form loops which are substantially transverse with respect to the body of the device and extend radially outwardly to remove the paraffin or other accumulation within the bore of the well tubing. Desirably, but not necessarily, the body is provided with a collet or other clamping means adapted to engage a wire line at any point along its length and to be released therefrom to move the scraper body to a new location or to detach it entirely. This is found to be particularly desirable where a wire line already is utilized for controlling various equipment in the well tubing, for example injection valves and the like, in which case the scraper may be placed at difierent locations to clean limited lengths of the tubing at the same time that the wire line is reciprocated to actuate the flow control or other device.

It is an object of this invention to provide a parafiin scraper or the like which utilizes a single continuous length of wire threaded sequentially through transverse apertures in the body to form loops which extend outwardly through the desired distance toward the inner wall of the tubing to be cleaned.

Another object is to provide a parafiin scraper which is particularly adapted to be placed at any desired point along a wire line, and, if its scraping action isnot needed-,ctherrsinglecontinuous; wire which form-s the. scraping: means: may; be; I651 moved; leaving-onlyithe; relatively small diameter bodyvin'place:onztheawireclinet Anothen object is; to.;pro.vide;- azparafiin scraper or; the;-1ike-.-in.- whichathez. single .wire;-.which forms the-cleaning: or; scraping: means may readily be renewedzwithout removingztthe body: of: the device from the wire linezorhwhichitimaya-bemounted.v

These and other; obi cats. and: advantages; will be furtherrapparent' from ;the;-following;descriptionandsfromthe; accompanyingtdrawing:which iorm lamartcofithespecification and illustratesa preferredmmbodimentzofythe; invention.

Referring;tmtheedrawing: 'Figure., 1 ,is;a;v,ertica1 andrpartzsectional view: of ia; scraper, embodyin this invention. Figure 2 is a:;plan: view of: the device shownin; Eigure 11;. Figurezaisj a-diagram of;a template illustratingaadesirablearrangement oi; apertures; to; facilitate; threading. the; continuouslwirestorformcthe. radial loops; which COIL: stmutez hescrapin meansl Inthe drawing;reierenceinumeral l odesi nates generally:anel ne tedb v; which maybe hollow, as shown, or may beasolidto impart added. wei ht to the device, particularly where it is toglbe used tithe lewerendz of; a; wireroline; rather: than a. at an intermediate point thereon. The upper end of body ID of this example is threaded internally as at H to receive a similarly threaded lower end of a collet chuck l2, the latter being provided with the customary longitudinal slots l3 and tapered section 14 which is received in a similarly tapered sleeve I5, the latter spaced by ring Hi from the clamping or tightening nut l1. Body I0 is adapted to seat against the lower face of nut I! by rotating it with means such as a wrench which will engage the opposed flattened portions I8.

Referring now to Figure 3, which illustrates a template showing the developed outer surface of body Ill, it will be noted that longitudinally and circumferentially spaced apertures I9 to 23, etc., are provided through the hollow body of this example. To facilitate the threading of the wire 25 successively or sequentially through the apertures I9 to 23, etc., when a hollow body is used, it will be further convenient, when drilling the oddnumbered holes, to incline the axis of the drill uration. Referring to Figure 2, it will be noted that the several loops a, b, c, d, e, and f are so adjusted that they overlap at least in part and extend outwardly substantially transversely at approximately right angles to the longitudinal axis of body I0. The ends 26 and 21 of wire 25 may be bent as shown or otherwise secured to prevent their pulling out of th apertures through which they pass. I

In operation, and particularly if the scraper is to be utilized at a point intermediate the length of a wire line, the collet chuck I2 is tightened on the line at the desired point by rotating nut I! with respect to chuck l2. Body I is then rotated on the threaded portion of chuck l2 until it seats securely against nut l1. Wire 25 may then be threaded sequentially through the several apertures I9 to 24, etc., the number of loops being determined by the degree of overlap desired or the amount of deposit to be removed at any one pass of the device. For example, if a very heavy deposit is encountered, only three loops may be desired which would radiate outwardly at 120 intervals around the circumference of the body. If the deposit is softer or more readily removable, six, nine or more loops may be used, with a suitable distribution pattern so that substantially all of the inner circumference of the tubing is covered by one or more loops at each pass.

Although means have been shown for adjusting body [0 at any intermediate point along a length of wire line it is obvious that a single eyelet for the end of the line could be substituted, particularly where the body of the device is made of a solid bar and has sufiicient weight to pull itself and its support wire line downwardly through a deposit of parafiin.

Although a single embodiment of this device has been illustrated and described, it is obvious that numerous changes could be made in the arrangement of the continuous wire, the means of support and the like, without departing from the invention, and all such modifications and changes that come within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. A scraper adapted to be secured to a Wire line or the like and moved thereby through a well tubing to remove paraffin and similar deposits from said tubing, characterized by an elongated body, a plurality of substantially transverse apertures extending through said body and longitudinally and circumferentially spaced therein, and a continuous length of wire threaded through said apertures to form loops extending outwardly from said body.

2. A scraper according to claim 1, in which said body is hollow to permit the support wire to extend axially therethrough.

3. A scraper according to claim 1, in which said bodyis hollow to permit the support wire to pass entirely therethrough, and includes a collet at one end for securing said'body to said wire.

4. A scraper adapted to be secured to a wire line .or the like and moved thereby through a well tubing to remove paramn and similar deposits from said tubing, comprising a unitary elongated body, means forming longitudinally and circumferentially spaced transverse passages through said body, and a continuous length of flexible wire traversing said passages, those portions of said wire intermediate said passages forming overlapping loops outside of said body.

5; A scraper according to claim 4, in which said body is hollow to permit the support wire to extend axially therethrough and means on said body for selectively gripping said wire.

ROBERT E. MEYNIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

